Doesn’t matter what they think, when you get it that life is not what happens TO you but life is what happens FOR you, then your blessings will abound – we know as we have lived it.
Life Doesn’t Happen TO You But FOR You
As Christians, and in Thessalonians, we are told to be thankful for everything we have and experience (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
That threw me for a while as I couldn’t figure out why I should be blessing anyone willing and wanting to intentionally cause pain – I grew up with a narcissistic mother that no one could ever please and none of us could ever do enough even though a few of us became very well-to-do.
She was always threatened by anyone who knew better.
While studying one night, it occurred to me…
the worst around us,
the attacks around us,
are reminders of the blessings we have now
No one ever sharpened a knife on a sponge, it takes a hard and rough surface – God has made life the same.
Our hard times are there to challenge us…
- to challenge and hone our focus
- to challenge and hone our beliefs
- to challenge and hone our mindset
Even whose voices we listen to, especially those voices that talk to us – whether in person or behind our backs – are to challenge and hone us…
Even the voice we hear when no one else is around…
Yeah, that voice that just asked, “What voice? What is he talking about?”
With that reminder of the blessings we have as the result of attacks, hard times, and difficult challenges comes thankfulness, we need to be…
- Thankful for idiots and fools who believe only they and those who agree with them are right, who believe they know so much they make themselves unavailable to learn, who will tell you that you know nothing
- Those idiots and fools are here to remind us that we were either in their shoes or close to being in their shoes at one time or another
- They are here to remind us how much we have learned beyond the typical education system
- Learn to embrace what you have learned, not their voice and definitely not their comments
- Learn to be thankful for those with whom we disagree but yet can still have a debate (if they permit a debate, otherwise just ignore the fool)
- Learning to debate a countering opinion constructively gives us something upon which to hone our wits as well as the possible opportunity to mentor if they decide to make themselves available to learn – a skill that once ran rampant in our country and is sorely lacking in many today, more so Liberals but many Conservatives just as guilty
- Learn to be thankful for those who are constructively critical of what we do as it brings our convictions to the surface
- Convictions, when addressed head-on, allow us to learn something about ourselves
Beliefs are NOT truths – do you believe the same things you did 10, 15, 20 years ago?
Beliefs are formed from what we keep hearing continuously.
Some prefer feel-good beliefs and will only embrace those as they don’t have to learn much more than what they currently believe.
Others will challenge their own beliefs, and find out what they need to learn using sound reasoning and lots of questions, both of themselves and those around them.
One thing is true throughout all this – your enemies only care about your past and/or name-calling, your true friends care about your future.
Ditch those who only care about your past, embrace those who care about your future – a future that is a better environment than what you are living in today.
All this also means you have an opportunity to practice compassion and an opportunity to lend a hand up to those needing assistance.
Handouts never last long, a hand-up assists them to raise themselves on their own IF they are willing to do so.
Always avoid giving anyone a handout as that only enables them instead of empowers them.
You have heard of family fortunes being lost within a few generations while others just seem to keep building and expanding.
The earlier type of family provides handouts to their younger generations, they never learn to do something for themselves – hence, they blame everyone but themselves for their predicament…
Much like career politicians of today…
The latter type of family enforces empowerment to their younger generations – they will only continue successfully in the family line if they learn what they need to do and how to do it.
Much like the current generation of politicians that own businesses and had to learn to fend for themselves before ever becoming a politician ever came to mind.
Finally, this also means as long as you remain available to learn then they, those who are cursing us, harming us, and critical of us, must be willing to change.
They must be willing to make themselves available to learn – otherwise, toilet paper has more value than their words.
Just flush their words and that toilet paper down the toilet – why not? They have the same value…
When you find yourself confronted by such fools and idiots, never make yourself available to them — make it a blessing which you have given yourself, and of which they have deprived themselves.
Never open a door God has closed, never open a door that God has not opened…
As long as you have kept yourself available to learn, they are still a blessing in your life as they have reminded you how much you have learned over them, and how many prayers they still really need.
Just walk away from them as your work with them is done…
Why Life Does Happen FOR You
Something else happens when you start realizing they are blessings in your life, I’ll let Tony share that great part (advisory: language)…
I’m not the one for salty language and truthfully better words can always be chosen – however, that preference does NOT stop a message from getting through.
Problems playing the above video? Click here…
A couple of other valuable videos from which we learned…
Stop Being the Jackal
As he has mastered this skill so well, most love Chris Walken when he starts telling a story.
His message here is much about everything that is happening now, though I am quite sure at the time this was recorded that wasn’t the intent…
Problems playing the above video? Click here…
Godly Wisdom ALWAYS Trumps Intellect
Intellect is good, however, it is not as honed as Godly wisdom – eve in the Bible it says to seek knowledge AND wisdom, while placing an emphasis on Godly wisdom.
In this speech, Rick Rigsby talks about his father, a 3rd-grade dropout who provided him with more wisdom than any intellect can conjure up.
Personal Experience
My own relationships with the males in my family are much the same as Ricks.
My step dad – the oldest in his family – had to drop out of 8th grade to run the farm as his father was killed in a farming accident. Yet he went on to fight in WWII, the Korean War, started a business, married my single mother of 2 kids only to have 13 of us at the dinner table, never a lack of food or clothing (I later found out our grocery bill exceeded the average paycheck). He is still to this day sought by many of his friends (more than 800 at his 75th birthday!) for his wisdom and insight.
My mother’s side of the family has more than 7 generations of farmers – all full of insight of which most are happy to hear, all as wise as my step dad. Most of them read the Bible daily, especially Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Psalms.
Lessons From the Book of Job
When your adversary creates you harm:
- name it
- claim the moment
- advise and warn Satan of your awareness, and
- be sure to hand it over to God – ALL of it!
From that point on, God ALWAYS provides a seven FOLD return for anything your enemy destroys or takes of yours – no matter what that enemy claims they have on you.
How big is a fold compared to times?
This is seven TIMES: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (as in 7 sheets of paper)
This is seven FOLD: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 (as in folding a sheet of paper 7 times over)
7-fold is one piece of paper folded 7 times – try folding a piece of paper 7 times, seriously, you may make it to 6 (the longest dimension on any size paper), 7 also happens to be the Divine number for perfection
Compare 7 sheets of paper piled on top of each other to one piece of paper that has been folded 7 times – a HUGE difference.
Many will curse you out, call you a liar, and try to deny you of your blessings, yet know like Job your return will be MUCH more than the 7 fold as long as you remain faithful as Job did – Faith is the key to it all, it is everything.
It is also why so many who are inflicted by their enemies almost always land on their feet and profit from the experience – like President Trump and many others in the Trump administration.
Persecution will be experienced – Christ had to deal with it, and so do we.
However, the victory always goes to the faithful – the Bible is rich in such victories.
When doing anything, form an alliance with 3 – God should always be your first choice.
“One can put a thousand to flight; 2 will send ten thousand to flight – however, 3 form a triple-braided and unbreakable cord.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:12
It is always good to have a prayer partner, make God your 1st prayer partner – add your spouse or your closest spiritual friend as your 2nd, you are the 3rd.
by Garrett O’Brien, originally published 21 Jan 2017 on DecisiveLiberty.News (archive)